Tag: father of lies

43.u. “Wilderness” – 8.a.  “You shall not spread a false report” – Lie

 

Exodus 23:1-3  “You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice,  nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit.

 Psalms 101:5     Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly I will destroy. Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not endure.

 Proverbs 17:4   An evildoer listens to wicked lips, and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.

 Proverbs 6:19    a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

 Proverbs 19:5    A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape.

 Proverbs 24:28   Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.

 1 Peter 3:16   having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.

 Ephesians 4:25    Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

 2 Timothy 3:3    heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good,

 Revelation 12:10  And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

John 8:44   You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

It has always been in the nature of man to follow a crowd to do evil.  It is easy and dangerous to turn aside after many to pervert justice, to follow with our peers and popular opinion. This is why it is so important for us to choose our crowd carefully: Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”  “The history of all right movements has been in the first place the history of lonely souls, who, having heard the authentic voice of God, have stood alone or in small minorities.” (Morgan)

Thou shalt not raise a false report,…. Of a neighbour, or of any man whatever, either secretly by private slanders, whispers, backbiting and tale bearing, by innuendos, detracting from his good name and credit, suggesting things false and wicked concerning him; or publicly in a court of judicature, bringing a false accusation, laying a false charge, and bearing a false testimony against him: or “thou shall not receive a false report” (p); if there were not so many, that say, Report, and we will report it, that are ready to receive every ill thing of their neighbours, there would not be so many that would raise such ill things of them; everything of this kind should be discountenanced, and especially by judges in courts of judicature, who are chiefly spoken to and of in the context; these should not easily admit every charge and accusation brought; nor bear, or endure a false report, as the word also signifies, but discourage, and even punish it.  (Gill)

Following after the crowd is easy. We have heard it said; “wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it. and right is right if only one is doing it”. The past 3 years surely have demonstrated the effects of this. False witness, slander, lies, innuendos, false charges, accusations, etc…… It only takes one person to proclaim a lie as truth to convince the masses of it. 

God’s Word is truth, full of righteous wisdom and understanding, and able to guide and lead a person in truth. The problem is that far too often this truth is neglected and time that could be spent on it is given over to news outlets and other social media talking heads who may or may not be committed to speaking the truth with their words. Far too often they will be led by the father of all lies in capturing ratings or more followers. Even when they have been caught in a lie they will spin it into a false claim about another. The world is full of this and it is good to stay away from it when it is obviously abounding in virtually every source. 

Time spent in God’s Word is time well spent and will keep your heart, mind, and soul from being polluted with lies of this world and the people who are being led by the Father of All Lies.

35.j. “So that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs”

 

 

 

Genesis 3:2  He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

 Genesis 2:16-17   And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,  but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

 Job 19:21   Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has touched me!

 John 8:44    You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

 Psalms 10:11   He says in his heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

 2 Corinthians 2:11     so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

 2 Corinthians 11:3  But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

 Acts 26:18   to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Demonic spirits evidently have the ability, under certain circumstances, to indwell human or animal bodies (Luke 8:33). On this occasion, Satan chose to indwell the body of a pre-curse serpent. “An immaterial spirit must be invisible; and therefore he must embody himself in some way or other before he can be seen. That Satan has power to enter into living bodies is clear, for he did so upon a very large scale with regard to men in the days of Christ…(Spurgeon)

Satan will often attack a chain at its weakest link, so he gets at Adam by tempting Eve. The stronger ones in a “chain” must expect an attack against weaker links and support them against those attacks. Satan’s first attack was leveled against the Word of God. If he could make Eve confused about what God said, or to doubt what God said, then his battle was partially won. From the beginning, Satan has tried to undermine God’s people by undermining God’s Word. He can undermine just as effectively by getting us to neglect God’s Word as by getting us to doubt it.  (Guzik)

When Satan attacks we are not to have a discussion with him about it, but rather say, “The Lord rebuke you”.  He is cunning and crafty in his speech and thoughts. When the Holy Spirit gives you discernment about such an attack then it is prudent to not have a discussion about it but rather rebuke it immediately. Why is it when we hear and know what God says about certain sins and temptations to avoid, that we want to get close enough to it to touch it and even eat of it? All of these will be exploited by Satan for sure, and only those grounded in His Word and that have a desire to wholly honor and glorify Him will be able, through the leading and strengthening of the Holy Spirit, to discern it and turn away from it.  Satan’s attacks come at us through our minds. It is here where the battle begins. Fiery darts shot singly or in multiples are flung at us from every possible angle. They can come in the form of lust, greed, pride, etc… They can be subtle or obvious. They can come from within our minds or planted there by another person being used by Satan. This is why we must always be on guard. Having an overwhelming desire for God’s Word and feeding upon it with an equally deep desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all we think, say, and do, and with a heart seeking to be led by the Holy Spirit, and with ears open to the quiet whispers of leading, it is then we will have the discernment to see all of the cunning and crafty attacks of Satan in our lives. It is good for us to have a Christian community with other believers, for where we might be deaf and blind they hear and see the fiery darts of temptation and strengthen us in our resolve to fight it off.  No one is immune to these attacks, and for certain no one in their own power is able to stand against them.  It is only through the indwelling Holy Spirit and our openness to listen and obey that we are able to stop the attacks. Oh, that we would have hearts and minds like David when he said;  thoughts: “Examine me, O God, and know my mind; test me, and discover my thoughts. Don’t let me follow evil ways, but lead me in the everlasting way.”

35.i. “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light”

 

 

 

Genesis 3:1  Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.

 Matthew 10:16    “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

 2 Corinthians 11:3    But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

 2 Corinthians 11:14    And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

 Revelation 12:9   And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

 John 8:44    You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Satan, before his fall, was an angel of the highest rank and prominence. Satan’s fall had to do with his desire to be equal to or greater than God, to set his will against God’s will. 

We may not understand everything involved in the way Satan used the body of a serpent, but we can know it was true and this is no mere fable. “It is idle to call the narrative of the Fall a mere allegory; one had better say at once that he does not believe the Book… There was a real serpent, as there was a real paradise; there was a real Adam and Eve, who stood at the head of our race, and they really sinned, and our race is really fallen. Believe this” (Spurgeon).

There are beings who desire to draw men away from God, and they are influenced directly by Satan and his followers. We may walk in innocence but when temped we are no longer innocent when we intentionally choose disobedience. 

Satan assaulted our first parents, to draw them to sin, and the temptation proved fatal to them. The tempter was the devil, in the shape and likeness of a serpent. Satan’s plan was to draw our first parents to sin, and so to separate between them and their God. Thus the devil was from the beginning a murderer, and the great mischief maker. The person tempted was the woman: it was Satan’s policy to enter into talk with her when she was alone. There are many temptations to which being alone gives great advantage; but the communion of saints tends very much to their strength and safety. Satan took advantage by finding her near the forbidden tree. They that would not eat the forbidden fruit, must not come near the forbidden tree. Satan tempted Eve, that by her he might tempt Adam. It is his policy to send temptations by hands we do not suspect, and by those that have most influence upon us. Satan questioned whether it were a sin or not, to eat of this tree. He did not disclose his design at first, but he put a question which seemed innocent. Those who would be safe, need to be shy of talking with the tempter. He quoted the command wrong. He spoke in a taunting way. The devil, as he is a liar, so he is a scoffer from the beginning; and scoffers are his children. It is the craft of Satan to speak of the Divine law as uncertain or unreasonable, and so to draw people to sin; it is our wisdom to keep up a firm belief of God’s command, and a high respect for it. Has God said, Ye shall not lie, nor take his name in vain, nor be drunk, &c.? Yes, I am sure he has, and it is well said; and by his grace I will abide by it. It was Eve’s weakness to enter into this talk with the serpent: she might have perceived by his question, that he had no good design, and should therefore have started back. Satan teaches men first to doubt, and then to deny. He promises advantage from their eating this fruit. He aims to make them discontented with their present state, as if it were not so good as it might be, and should be. No condition will of itself bring content, unless the mind be brought to it. He tempts them to seek preferment, as if they were fit to be gods. Satan ruined himself by desiring to be like the Most High, therefore he sought to infect our first parents with the same desire, that he might ruin them too. And still the devil draws people into his interest, by suggesting to them hard thoughts of God, and false hopes of advantage by sin. Let us, therefore, always think well of God as the best good, and think ill of sin as the worst evil: thus let us resist the devil, and he will flee from us. (Henry)

Satan can come as an angel of light and deceive any man left alone to his own thoughts, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. This is a warning to be regarded with importance. If we are to stand against the lies and temptations of Satan and all the methods he may deploy, we best be on our guard. We we are left to our own and out of communion with God and other christians, surely Satan will have from fertile ground with which to sow seeds of lies and plant temptations within our minds.  

Being able to discern Satan’s lies and temptations requires a close walk with God, communion with Christians, and continued time in His Word with a desire to grow in understanding, wisdom, and knowledge so that in all we say, think, and do our hearts desire is to honor and glorify Jesus Christ. There is no discernment without wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. There is no discernment without the leading and direction of the Holy Spirit. There is no growth in discernment apart from God’s Word richly dwelling in our hearts, minds, and souls.

27.c. “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance”

 

Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 1 Corinthians 6:11    And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

 2 Timothy 4:10    For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.

 James 4:4     You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

 1 John 2:15-17    Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.  And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

 Isaiah 30:1    “Ah, stubborn children,” declares the LORD, “who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin;

 1 John 5:4   For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

 1 Peter 1:14   As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,

 John 8:44   You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

 1 John 5:19   We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

 1 John 3:10    By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil

Though, as Christians, we are now alive, we must never forget where we came from. We were dead in trespasses and sins. There are many kinds of life: vegetable life, animal life, mental life, moral life, and spiritual life. A being might be alive in one sense but dead in another. To be spiritually dead does not mean that we are physically dead, socially dead, or psychologically dead. Yet it is a real death, a “dead death” nonetheless. “The most vital part of man’s personality – the spirit – is dead to the most important factor in life – God.” (Wood) “Not in a moral sense, nor a mental sense, but in a spiritual sense, poor humanity is dead, and so the word of God, again and again, most positively describes it.” (Spurgeon) We err if we think that dead in trespasses and sins says everything about man’s lost condition. It is an err because the Bible uses many different pictures to describe the state of the unsaved man, saying he is: Blind,  A slave to sin, A lover of darkness, Sick, Lost, An alien, A stranger, A foreigner, A child of wrath, and Under the power of darkness.

Every single person was born out of and into sin. All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. Everyone ever born has been born into sin.  Through birth, we have were born into death and destruction and if God’s righteousness was a line we not only have crossed it, but we continually challenge its boundaries. We are born on the other side of God’s perfect, holy, and righteous standards through our sinful birth. We lived in sin, we embraced it and did not even give it a second thought.  We followed after the course of this world and the prince of lies, Satan.  We followed after it and sought it and its pleasures, wants, and desires. Granted we were born into sin, inherited from Adam, but Satan adds to this sinful nature the temptations and influences through deception and lies to do even more ungodliness. He influences and convinces us that pride, self-worth, self-centeredness, self-reliance, lust, worldly satisfaction, worldly pleasures, and immoral things are not only right but through them, we will gain purpose and meaning in life.  Such is the life of the “dead in their sin” mankind. Those born again must never forget where they came from. Those who are made alive must remember that we were very comfortable in this old life just as a dead person would be comfortable in a coffin. We are alive in Christ and there ought to be a strong urge to escape the confines of the coffin and leave it behind. We used to respond to Satan’s temptations, influence, and guidance.  We ought to be growing and maturing in things of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit in our everyday lives.  We ought to be able to discern the things of God and the lies of Satan.

One of Satan’s lies is that he would have us believe that all are children of God, hell is only reserved for really bad people, and as children of God, all good people go to heaven, confusing what it means to be a child of God.  In one sense we are, He is our common creator.  Satan will throw clouds of doubt over the need to be born again, the need for Jesus Christ, the coming judgment, heaven, and hell.  There ought to be a big difference, a change, a new way of thinking, living, and doing when we are born again.  The problem is we are continually tempted to choose the worldly and fleshly over the things of God.  We choose to seek what the world has to offer more than desiring to honor and glorify Jesus Christ. 

Another of his lies is that there is no God and all there is to life is what we take from it. We live, we die, the end. Believing in either one of these lies has eternal consequences, eternal hell.  We are to remember this is not only how we once lived, but this is what we have been saved from through the grace and mercy of God.  What manner of person ought we to be in light of this?

16.i. “Whoever is of God hears the words of God”

John 8:39  They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

“Because My word has no place in you” – Their rejection of the word of Jesus proved they were not yielding and trusting in God’s Word.  Spurgeon considered several ways that God’s word should have a place in the believer.

· The word of God ought to have an inward place.

· The word of God ought to have a place of high honor.

· The word of God ought to have a place of trust.

· The word of God ought to have a place of rule.

· The word of God ought to have a place of love.

· The word of God ought to have a permanent place.

How will we know true freedom without such reverence for His Word in our lives? If there is no hunger and thirst in your heart for His Word you have to ask yourself what is it that is filling your heart?

Father of Lies

“Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”

“For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue.”

“His speech was smooth as butter, yet war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords.”

Psalms 62:4  They only plan to thrust him down from his high position. They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse.

Matthew 2:16    Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.

Psalms 2:1  Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed,

Matthew 22:15   Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words.

Matthew 22:34  But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.

Matthew 26:3  Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,  and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him.

Luke 20:20   So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor.

Matthew 27:1     When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.

John 11:47-50   So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs.  If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”  But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all.  Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish

Acts 4:16-17    saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.  But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.”

Acts 4:25  who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—

Psalms 28:3   Do not drag me off with the wicked, with the workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their hearts.

John 8:44   You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Revelation 22:15    Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Luke 11:39    And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

We should not be blind to the fact that there are those who will actively plot and scheme against christianity and also with those who believe.  Their father is the devil and he is a liar and father of all lies.  He speaks with a smooth tongue and tells people there is no God.  He tells people that there is no life after death.  He tells people that they need more and more. He tells people that their only happiness will come from what they get for themselves.  He tells people that Jesus Christ sacrifice on the cross is not enough to cover their sin.  He tells people that they are not good enough for God.  He tells people that they are failures.  He tells people that personal pleasure at what ever cost is worth it.  He tells people that they will never find peace. He tells people that there is no hope.  He tells people to be greedy.  He tells people that going to church is enough.  He tells people that they are to busy to go to church.  He tells people that giving to the church and its mission is not needed from them.  He tells people that children are to be used for personal pleasure.  He tells people to worry.  He tells people to never forgive.  He tells people that there is no need to confess and turn away from their sin.  He blinds their eyes and heart to the current sin they are in.  He tells people to hold grudges.  He encourages people to be angry.  He confuses people.  He encourages people to close their ears to the whispers of God.  He tells people that they should not wait on God.  He tells people that God will not listen or answer their prayer.  He tells people that God does not love us.  And the list of lies could continue for pages…..  Our God lives and is the rock, refuge, fortress, and heavenly Father to all who believe.  However we will never be able to fight these lies if we spend little to no time in His word.  I wonder how many defeated people are out there because they do not know God and His promises that are found in His word.  I wonder how many do not seek God because they don’t feel they are good enough.  I wonder how many do not confess sin because they have drifted so far away from God they cannot hear Him speak into their life.  Our purpose is to know God, humbly serve, honor, follow and obey Him.  We can to believe lies or truth – if we would only choose to seek Him and His purpose, things of this world and the lies it shouts as truths, would have less and less influence.  Choose Him!!!!